Grrl Power #35 – Purple Hair? No chance she’s a main character.
So that was a long ass trip to the bank eh? Well, I’m drawing this with the idea that it’ll make a good read when you’re going through the archives, and trying not to rush the story for the benefit of the week to week readers. After all, the longer the comic goes on, the more people who will read the story from the archives. Well, I say story… really just establishing some quirks of our protagonist and also fitting in a few gags on the way at the moment, but that chick with the purple hair looks important. Maybe we’ll be seeing more of her soon.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
i take it we get to meet maxima soon
That’d be a heck of a red herring if we didn’t.
Better hope it’s Maxima. Otherwise she’s going to be pissed that somebody stole her jacket.
^ Like :D
Maybe it’s Red Herring, whose superpower is to not actually be relevant to what’s going on!
I think I must steal this concept
If it is Maxima she’s seeming irritated. Not sure if it’s from the wait or the “whispered” conversation behind her.
I think it’s from the wait and the “whispered” conversation behind her.
Think its a bit of both here.
nah, she is upset cause she just realized that she missed Leno.
Wow. Seriously? Assholes.
For one thing, the correct response to somebody in a bank you think is dressed up is to vacate the bank. The only reasons to be dressed up in a bank are for robbing, commercial promotion, or coincidence; the second is usually as blatant as possible. So the “filming” option is right out and the assumptions required for it to make any sense at all make you a complete idiot if you aren’t on guard. Basically, it is either none of their business or they’re about to be hostages. Their attitude is insane/rude.
For another, you do not have conversations about people literally behind their back like that. At least make sure you are outside the range of their hearing. Jeez.
Yeah, well, “asshole” is a very common character trait, unfortunately.
Particularly in web comics. ;)
I probably should go back and update their word bubble so they’re outlined in the whisper dashes… though I’m not sure how to do that in Photoshop. I create shapes and then stroke them in the layers palette. Probably have to do it in Illustrator and import them. But yeah, they’re kind of being rude. Though I think I have been in a bank where people who were dressed up were in the lobby. Looked like they were on their way to a renaissance fair or something. Obviously no one was wearing a mask though. Also consider that any time anything happens in a bank in a movie, TV show, or comic, it’s because something is about to go down. No one in any of those mediums has ever had an uneventful transaction, but if you’re not aware that you’re a character in that situation, for all you know that person in the weird jacket in front of you just has weird taste in jackets.
Decided to do a quick search and found this page:
https://www.planetphotoshop.com/dashed-lines-in-photoshop.html
Might be other alternatives, too.
heh heh. Ninjas. Forget Maxima, it’s those two dude behind Syd I’m keeping an eye on.
Yeah… Those are kinda looking some tiny bit suspicious. But only the tiniest little bit.
But I’m sure it’s only the shades and we’re completely seeing things here. ;P
I am really enjoying the comic so far. I look forward to reading more!
What is protagonist? Is that like the positive aspect of the comic?
I know I hear that used for movies and tv shows but have no clue what it means.
A protagonist is the main charecter/Charecters (sp) of a story. Usually the “Good” guy of the piece. While the Antagonist is who/whatever opposes them.
Oh ok I get it. So it is like the Ying and yang.
However keep in mind that a protagonist can be evil too. It’s not about good and bad, it’s about whoever advances the plot to the overall objective, and the antagonist would be someone who causes conflict to slow the protagonist from achieving his or her goal.
Like Dr. Horrible is a protagonist, despite being a ‘villain’, whereas Captain Hammer (corporate tool) is an antagonist, despite being a ‘hero’ …
Thanks, i was having a hard time thinking of an example…
Most excellent example, good sir! XD
“Protagonist” is the fictional character of the story who is supposed to win (as opposed to the “antagonist” who is supposed to lose). In a way, “protagonist” is basically the same as “good guy”, though that’s an over-simplification. There are stories where the protagonist is actually a very nasty person who, by any reasonable measure, is actually a bad guy, but because of how the story is written, you still want that person to win. A good web-comic example of a bad-guy protagonist would be Darken. The protagonist and his lackies are all murderous psychopaths, but they’re still, for all practical purposes, the good guys of the story.
If this is too complex for you to understand, then just use this simple rule of thumb:
Protagonist = Good Guy
Antagonist = Bad Guy
It is simpler to say that the protagonist is the main character and antagonists are people in the way of the main character.
this removes questions of good and bad
Etymologically speaking…
agonistēs = contestant
pro- = first, primary, chief, earliest, in front of
deuter- = second, secondary
trit- = third, tertiary
ant- = anti, against
When the terms are used correctly, The Protagonist is the one who makes things happen, and the Antagonist tries to stop them.
In comics, the Villain is traditionally the Protagonist – they will conquer the city! The Hero is the Antagonist – they will stop the dastardly scheme!
Most people, however, use ‘Hero’, ‘Protagonist’ and ‘Main Character’ interchangeably (same with ‘Villain’ and ‘Antagonist’).
So there’s today’s lesson regarding narrative theory – next time, Chronos versus Kairos!
Be careful with the archives. There have been a number of webcomic artists (scarygoround, goats, for example) who ended up rebranding /relaunching their comic just to avoid the problem (their explanation, not mine) of new readers turned off by having a large archive to read. Since both of those example make their living off their webcomic, I imagine it’s rather a problem you want to have. Still, worth noting.
I’m sure that is just the “loud minority”, to use a political term. I enjoy reading large amounts of archive at a time, because then it’s like its all happening at real time instead of over weeks, I also know a large group of people who would agree with me, and actually re-read archives on a weekly basis. It’s always fun going back to a random page and rediscovering the events that led to the current page.
Also if a continuous comic such as this one is good enough, you don’t need to go back to the beginning to know what is going on. I cite Exiern as an example, I hopped in at around #300, and have been following since.
I am one that agrees with you.
I enjoy finding an interesting comic and blowing a Saturday morning going through the archives… at least I did before a huge chunk of my time was taken up with drawing one. On the other hand, there are a few webcomics I’ve added to my RSS feed with the intention of doing that, but never actually finding the time, so I have yet to actually read the comic. Still, like you said, it’d be a nice problem to have.
I also hope to alleviate the problem somewhat with the “Who’s Who” box, which shows relevant character information for the comic the viewer is looking at, so that people don’t need to read absolutely everything to get who’s who and why they’re behaving in such an eccentric manner. I imagine I’ll organize my archive in to chapters once I have chapters to organize them in to.
I personally prefer large archives as then I do not get caught up to fast and can read the comic for a few days or weeks depending on how large it is. I hate those ones were it is hard to actually find the beginning. There was one I avoided reading just because I could not find the beginning.
I am currently, in my second rereading of the webcomic, from the first page!
i am curious as to how maxima and sydney meet. will she explode at the people whispering about her? will the bank be robbed by the people who entered after sydney in the first pannel (sunglasses in a bank = EVIL INTENTIONS!!!!) will aliens start an invasion?
i look forward to finding out next week!
oh and as a side note does sydney at this point even know how to use her powers? we know that she is somehow bound by the tube, or whats in it rather. but she hasn’t displayed any powers other then being super adorable and having the spice tolerance of the gods.
“Nunjas” should have been the title to today’s comic.
Nunjas with nunchaku!
Wait, wouldn’t nunjas use ninchaku?
Hey Dave. (Finally) caught the new ad. I’m gonna have to remember “Douche Knuckle” as an insult. :)
Yeah the cheesecake angle seems to be working out ok. Plus that’s not too bad of a picture of Anvil if I say so myself.
Nope, not bad at all. But when do we see Syd or Dabbler in a bikini? ;)
Hah hah Syd isn’t much for bikinis. Dabbler though… I’ve already drawn the beginning of her intro and I think she’s got her clothes off by the second page.
Oh! Well Dabbler’s intro will be something to watch out for them. *ahem*
Panel 1: Aerial shot of small Pacific island
CONTROL (o/s): All sensors rolling. Halo, you are Go for test shot Wasabi Bravo.
Panel 2: Whiteout. Slight radial shadows centred on location of island
Panel 3: As panel 1, island noticeably smaller with mushroom cloud and bullseye wave system
HALO (shaken, not stirred): Wow, I could almost taste it that time! Let’s try again!
Yay! Maxima!
lemme guess? The two guys walking in right behind her are there to rob the place?
@KC
Probably.
::looks harder at the suspicious “mask like object” in the right dudes left hand::
FINALLY!!!!!
I was beginning to give up hope…..
T_T
Yeah probly not wise to pIiss Maxi off people also Nuns practice the ancient arts Nun-fu and nun-jitsu
Whilst jews prefer the ancient technique of Jew-Jitsu?
Ha that is tooo funny Lukkai
scnr
First thing coming to my mind after reading your comment was a certain demotivational poster after all. ;)
LOL I just noticed the text outside the actual comic. nice spot to fit in an extra joke! :D
Those jokes and titling the comics are the hardest part :(
Actually (according to Tom Petty), “…the waiting is the hardest part”.
:P
:)
Do all superheroes go to the bank and queue at the same time?
To the author,
This is a great web comic, you have yourself a fan, saw this ad banner in pcweenies.com. Great job, can’t wait until next one.
Thanks! Hopefully it will continue to entertain.
just awesome work! cant wait to see whats in the container that’s messing with her !
Panal One: Our Protganist Ladies And Gentelmen.XD
Looking forward to future installments…
I see one of Anvil’s depictions shows her ‘gorgeous’.
Does she have limited shape-shifting powers or does she clean up real good?
A M. o. M.? (Master of Mabeline)?
Do one of the supes have clairvoyance or do the robbers have -10 karma?
(Or whatever the gaming reference is.)
There was a joke (in the pre 9/11 days) that the chance of a bomb on your
plane one in 10 million. The chance of TWO bombs one in 100 trillion.
So, to be safe, you should bring your own bomb with you.
What are the odds of a superhero, a future superhero, a plain clothes policeman, the
instructor of the mall’s Tae Kwan Do center and a fitness instructor being in line at the
bank just as it is being robbed?
Well, she cleans up real good in the sense that my art is woefully inconsistent at this point, and sometimes I put out a great picture and sometimes I feel like I need to draw a character with a bag on her head cause I can’t get her expression right. The ‘gorgeous’ of Anvil was one I spent an entire evening on as it was going in a banner for advertising.
After this page, I’m not only looking forward to the Meeting between Maxima & Halo/sydney, I’m eagerly awaiting the appearance of the Ninja -Nuns of Tierra Del Fuego! [Don’t you just love thatname?]
I see one of Anvil’s depictions shows her ‘gorgeous’.
Does she have limited shape-shifting powers or does she clean up real good?
A M. o. M.? (Master of Mabeline)?
Anvil is Halo too.Atleast the alt-text of the pictures says she is.Maybe Sydney has shape shifting powers
Well this is a real slap-dash operation isn’t it? I’ll have to fix that tonight. I can’t even see the alt-text in Chrome unless a picture is also a link.
And Peggy is part of Harem too :)
Haha! Robbers behind Halo :P
We’re gonna see some action soon ;)
Robbers behind Sydney after having a curry.
I feel sorry for them. :\
Not just curry. Curry so hot that people driving across the parking lot had burning eyes.
Is the guy wearing glasses on the first panel supposed to be a Clark Steel cameo?
I’m not familiar with that reference. So I guess no.
its MAXIMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol 8D aw man, r those robbers bhind Halo n the 1st panel? Maxima’s gonna have some serious butt 2 kick. lol and mayb Halo can jump n and help save the day? -pretty please w/ puppy dog eyes- lol ;)
I guess her reference to nuns is an inside joke, that or maybe I just dont live places where a lot of nuns congregate and can “swarm” people. Still, the scene with the nuns was amusing (even if I didnt understand her reason for disliking them). And yes, its hard to tell what Maxima is more annoyed at. The gossips or the wait.
Black jacket, shades, brick like face. Stereotypical image in comics for either the “brick” in disguise or a bank robber about to pull on the mask and hold everyone hostage. Well, there is one other option, and he’s a secret agent, but they usually dont have a brightly colored shirt on.
She was cursing worse than the devil, which is frowned upon by the church and therefore nuns. He also threw in a sailor, because sailors are also supposed to have dirty mouths, and this sailor was blushing because he had never heard such fowl language.
It wasn’t fowl language — she didn’t mention chicken-choking once. Okay, blow-hole molesting, sure, but that hardly has to do with game birds…. : )
referencing sister claire web comic for nun-fu and please let syd show some “moves” she picked up from the comic at some point.
They are going to stop a robbery together arn’t they?
Robbery stopped? Quite likely. Together? Unlikely.
When meeting a new dance partner, there is a probability of toes being stepped on.
Is there going to be any sort of concrete update schedule?
Mondays. Haven’t missed one yet. Thursdays are a bonus but I only post then if I get ahead on my buffer.
The guys at the door have more of a “government goon” vibe than a bank robber vibe. Of course, they might be there to test Sydney (without her knowledge or consent).
Someone is going to try to steal what Sydney’s canister, fail, and panic. Which is really not good in a crowd.
I’m liking the new Halo, Maxima and Anvil images!
Thanks. New images in the randomizer up there is a pretty fair bet that they’re going to show up soon in the comic. Well the Anvil and Harem pieces were for ad banners. Didn’t even use the Harem piece, but maybe I’ll turn those in to bookmarks or something for when I start going to conventions.
haha im loving how you change the picture of the girls on the top of the page x3 keeps things fresh~
Thanks. It’s a super simple little php script that I found. I can’t take credit for coding it but I will take credit for using it in a kinda neat way.
Just wondering, ^^’ how come peggy dosent change? lol
Well at this point I’ve only ever drawn the one picture of her. It’s actually for a strip that I may not even use just because while I think it has a funny joke in it, the timing doesn’t fit in with the story any more. I’ll still use the joke but I’ll have to redraw the setting.
Wow i’m re-reading the series and just noticed the bottom-left jokes.
Speaking of which i’m British and there is nothing more action packed then queuing!
Well as an American I have to thank you for Mitchell and Webb. And Red Dwarf. And Blackadder. Etc. Etc.
I’m an archive reader, and appreciate the story.
Hey! Is that the terrifying gold lady?!
Purple hair. It’s a manga. Eh, nothing strange here.
Is that an XKCD I sense?
“…the idea that it’ll make a good read when you’re going through the archives.” Doing that now (again) and effect achieved!